Amarillo Rotary South names Enrique Gonzalez as 2022 APD officer of the year
The Amarillo South Rotary Club of Amarillo honored patrol officer Enrique Gonzalez Thursday morning as its Amarillo Police Department (APD) Officer of the Year at a ceremony at the Ronald McDonald House in Amarillo.
“This is an unexpected honor; you do not expect to get this kind of honor for doing your job," Gonzalez said. “I am proud of the people I work with, and in all of the three incidents I was nominated for, my partner was there with me. He is someone I hang out with on and off duty. We kind of feed off of each other.”
The three incidents, as detailed in the nomination, were an aggravated robbery where Gonzalez was able to locate the suspect, arrest him, and recover the weapon; a second where he recovered a stolen motorcycle and arrested the driver; and a third, where he located and arrested a homicide suspect within two hours of the slaying.
Gonzalez said that he had wanted to be a cop since high school, and he is an 8-year veteran of the Amarillo Police Department.
“Ever since high school, this is what I wanted to do,” Gonzalez said. “In serving the community, you try to do for the community what you would want to be done for your family in your service.”
Asked what is like to be able to serve the community that he lives in, Gonzalez spoke about his and other officers' commitment to the city: “We all live here; the safer we make the city, the safer it is for everybody.”
Sgt. Caleb Finsterwald, an evening shift supervisor with APD, spoke about why he nominated Gonzalez for this recognition.
“It feels very good to be able to recognize the work that officer Gonzalez has done this past year,” Finsterwald said. "It is very comforting, knowing that we have officers out there that are willing to do the hard work required to keep the city safe.”
Finsterwald said that this kind of recognition is beneficial to motivate officers to continue their excellent work in the community as officers.
Asked how he was able to choose one officer out of so many that do good work in the department, Finsterwald said it was not an easy task.
“As the supervisor, I am out there with these officers,” Finsterwald said. "I go to calls with them and read their reports, tracking their stats on a daily basis. Sometimes it can be very difficult to choose an officer for their work. I have been very fortunate to have so many really good officers working under me. It is especially nice for one of the officers to get this recognition; it is also a good feeling for me.”
He said that he felt lucky to work for the Amarillo community, with the support that they receive.
"We have a great community with people that back and support us,” Finsterwald said. “Hopefully, we can keep that respect. I also would like to thank the Rotary Club for this honor for one of my officers.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Rotary South names Enrique Gonzalez APD officer of the year
